


soothe me daily

by wizardcorez



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eating Disorders, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Keith (Voltron)-centric, M/M, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:28:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24259663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wizardcorez/pseuds/wizardcorez
Summary: Keith slips into some bad eating habits, but everyone helps him get better. Klance happens towards the end.*do not read this to trigger yourself or if you think it will upset you, read the tags and keep yourself safe*
Relationships: Keith & Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 67





	soothe me daily

It had started innocently enough. 

Keith had put on a little weight, maybe he had been eating too much or maybe it had been muscle mass but it still showed up on the scale as 10 more pounds on the monthly check-ins they were made to do, and that gave him a weird sick feeling in his stomach. That sick feeling lasted into the night, skipping dinner with the other paladins entirely.

The next day he trained harder than he usually did. He trained until he could feel his muscles burning. He didn’t stop until he thought he might collapse, knowing that would just cause the team to worry.

Today he showed up to dinner, at least, but when his eyes landed on the food he got that sick feeling again and he wanted to gag. He mostly played with the food, just telling the team he felt sick again, taking at least a few bites to ease their worries. Even if the food stuck in his throat and he struggled to swallow he told himself and the others that he must have just caught the space flu or something similar.

After dinner, he left to train again, fighting the sparring robot until very atom of his bing felt like lead weights. Even then, when he thought he couldn’t push himself any further he did, despite feeling lightheaded from whatever made him sick.

Keith weighed himself on his own the next morning, staring in shock as he was already several pounds down. That couldn’t be healthy, he thought, but he didn’t question it, just happy to be on his way to his normal and healthy weight.

A week passed. The sick feeling didn’t go away.

The other paladins were worried, he was more fatigued during training and they feared that he may slip up in battle. They also noticed how little he was eating, never fully missing a meal but never eating more than three bites and then claiming he was full. They didn’t say anything, not to Keith’s face, at least, but he could hear the hushed whispers as he left the dining hall to train every day.

He didn’t understand why they were so worried, honestly. He could keep it under control.

At the next weigh-in, Keith was underweight by a decent amount. Keith brushed it off. Shiro didn’t let it go. Shiro told Keith he needed to eat. Keith told him he had been, and he had, he wasn’t lying, but the light snacking and few bites at dinner weren’t enough, Keith worked that off within a half-hour of his training and would always train for several hours more after that.

Keith insisted he was fine, but everyone was obviously worried about him. He would yell when he saw them giving him those pitying looks. He was a paladin of Voltron, he didn’t need their empathy.

A few days later Keith was flat on his back in the training room, his breathing ragged. He stood on shaky legs, his vision going black for a solid thirty seconds but he just pretended he could see. Another round with the sparring robot and he was on his back again, coughing into his hand. He tasted blood but kept going.

When he stood after that, he fainted. Hunk and Lance found him, he wasn’t sure if it was minutes or hours after he fainted but he assured them he had just stood up too fast.

They didn’t believe him. Worry was evident on both of their faces but this time he didn’t yell, he just let them carry him to the infirmary. In the back of his mind, he knew he wasn’t okay but he put on a brave face, mostly for the sake of his team. Hunk left to find Shiro and the rest of the team, leaving Keith with lance in a heavy silence.

“You know we care about you, right?’ Lance said softly.

“I know,” Keith hummed, staring at the ceiling as he laid back on the Altean hospital bed.

They sat in silence for another few moments before Lance spoke again.

“Do you know I care about you, Keith?” Lance’s voice was quiet.

“I just said I know you guys care,” Keith rested his hands over his chest as he spoke.

“No, Keith,” Lance sighed “I care about you. Not just as a teammate, not just as a paladin of Voltron.”

Keith just raised an eyebrow at that, not saying anything or taking his eyes off the ceiling.

“I care about you as a person,” Lance said finally, his voice cracking, which made Keith sit straight up, feeling his heart shatter seeing Lance crying.

Keith’s feelings towards Lance were complicated, to say the least. Lance had always pissed him off and annoyed him, sure, but he had an undeniable charm and he brought joy to any room he walked in, even Keith could admit that. Keith could even admit that Lance was handsome, without the shit-eating grin on his face at least. He had thought about Lance when he was alone, eyes slammed shut and breathing heavy, even, but he felt gross about it afterward. At times a brief thought of Lance kissing him crossed his mind but it was always pushed away before he could really think about it.

Keith hadn’t laughed much in the past few months but Lance could usually manage to make him crack a smile for at least a moment, even if he forced into a scowl before anyone could notice. 

So maybe Keith had a soft spot for Lance, despite their rivalry. It hurt Keith to see Lance crying, especially over something like worrying about Keith. He almost wiped away Lance’s tear but caught himself before his hand reached his face, pulling him into a hug instead.

Lance cried harder and Keith squeezed him close, not really caring if he got tears or snot on him.

“I’m okay, Lance, shh,” he whispered, rubbing circles on Lance’s back, fighting back tears himself.

Seeing Lance like this made him realize how much he genuinely was cared about and it hit him like a truck, feeling guilty for yelling when anyone gave him those looks filled with pitty. The team really had just cared about him.

Keith broke, sobbing into Lance’s shoulder and taking fistfuls of his shirt. He isn’t sure how long they stay like that, clinging to each other and crying pathetically, but by the time Shiro and the others came in neither of them were crying anymore, though it had been evident that they were.

What happened next had basically been an intervention. Keith explained what happened, promising that he would try harder to eat more, not arguing when Shiro told him he couldn’t train anymore until he got his weight back up, knowing that Shiro knew what was best for him.

That night Keith ate a little more at dinner, wanting to get better for the sake of his team, and he could tell they were grateful for it.

When Keith was about to go to sleep there was a soft knock at his door, he opened it to reveal Lance, armed with a sheepish smile and some pillows and blankets.

“Can I sleep on your floor?” Lance asked quietly, to which Keith tilted his head.

“Sure, but why?” Keith asked

“It feels safer...I know you’re safe if I’m here.”

Keith didn’t say anything else but he opened the door more for Lance, letting him in and closing him behind him. He made sure Lance had a comfortable space on the floor, piling several layers of blankets so his back wouldn’t hurt before climbing into his own bed, staying close to the edge.

Both of them stared at the ceiling, not speaking even if they were both awake, and when Keith’s hand drooped off the bed Lance slowly intertwined their fingers. It didn’t take them long to fall asleep after that, and when they woke up their hands were still loosely holding each other.

Keith knew he was going to be alright.

It was hard, of course, but Keith got better. He still had his bad days, he still trained too hard sometimes, but everyone supported him through it all.

Lance kept sleeping on Keith’s floor, he kept holding his hand at night. At some point, he stopped sleeping on the floor, he complained just once about his back hurting and Keith started making him sleep on the bed with him, and Lance was okay with that. 

After some time, they started holding hands during the day, under the table when Keith was struggling to get a meal down or when they were walking together and Lance would intertwine their hands.

They started kissing too, Keith made the first move but Lance swore it was the other way around. They made it official not too long after that. None of the paladins were surprised, and they were genuinely happy for the two of them.

Keith was proud of how healthy he was now, physically and mentally, and Lance was proud of him too. And knowing Lance was proud of him? That was the best feeling in the world for Keith.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I've written in years and I just wrote it because I needed a place to vent my frustrations. I gave it a happy ending because I'm tired of being sad. The title is thanks to Hozier.
> 
> I will say, I do not want it to seem like I am romanticizing eating disorders. I don't want it to seem like Keith got better because he got in a relationship. Keith got better because he had endless support from both Lance and his other friends. If you are struggling with an eating disorder get help, there is always someone to talk to who can understand.


End file.
